They're a tough breed, but the mental scars will run deep

They're a tough breed, but the mental scars will run deep

After
ten weeks trapped half a mile underground in 91F (33C) ­heat and 80 per
cent ­humidity, how will the miners react psycho­logically and
physically to their release? Here Daily Mail Science ­Editor MICHAEL HANLON examines their ordeal and the effect it will have had.

BODY:
Shortly after the miners were found to be alive and well, the Chilean
authorities contacted scientists from Nasa to advise on their physical
and psychological wellbeing.

Like
astronauts, the miners have been stuck in a confined, dark environment
in which normal exercise is difficult and in which the rhythms of day
and night cease to exist.

Medical treatment: Mario Sepulveda gestures to miners as he is taken into a triage tent, but he could face future psychological and physical problems

Of
course, these are not random members of the public. Though aged from 19
to their 60s, they are all tough, hardy and, for the most part,
extremely fit (one, Edison Pena, is reported to be running six miles a
day through pitch-dark tunnels).

The
health of two of the men – Jose Ojeda, who has diabetes, and Jorge
­Galleguillos, who has high blood ­pressure – has however been giving
cause for concern.

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Through
tubes bored from the surface, exercise equipment including giant
elastic-bands, with which the miners can exercise their atrophying
muscles, has been delivered, as well as food (rationed to around 2,200
calories a day, to prevent the miners becoming too fat to fit in the
rescue cage) and even low-tar cigarettes.

Thanks to the water pumped
down from the surface, the miners have had plenty to drink and they
have dug latrines, with natural springs washing away the waste.

Three hundred metres along a tunnel is another natural spring in which they are showering daily.

To
prevent motion sickness during their ascent, the miners have been given
a mixture of aspirin and a high-calorie drink to settle their stomachs.

Physically,
after returning to the surface, they ­should recover quickly. Some may
be out of shape and all will find the piercing sunlight of the Atacama
painful, but even after two months underground their eyes should
readjust within a minute or so, say ophthalmologists.

MIND:
Although the physical trauma should be relatively easy to manage, for
many it will be the psychological effects that will cause problems in
the weeks and months ahead, especially once the spotlight of publicity
has moved on.

The rescue
and its aftermath will doubtless be an occasion of euphoria, as the men
are reunited with wives, girlfriends, parents, siblings and children.

But
then reality will strike. At least one of the ­miners, Yonni Barrios,
will have some explaining to do – his wife Marta and ­mistress Susana
have both been keeping a vigil at the surface.

More
serious problems will be triggered by the extraordinary nature of their
ordeal. Perhaps the most significant problem is likely to be
sleep-disturbance as their body clocks are likely to have been
disrupted by the lack of daylight.

Many, if not all, will suffer tiredness, insomnia and restlessness that could take many months to dissipate.

And sleep disturbances can exacerbate other mental problems such as anxiety.

In
video footage the miners have presented a cheerful and resilient face
to the world. But letters to their families reveal the ‘hell’ they are
going through.

It is
likely that in the months ahead many will suffer mental problems
including anxiety, depression and flashbacks. Some might find it
impossible to ever go underground again and psychologists say even
reading about their ordeal in the media could trigger panic attacks.

The
miners will, however, be helped by their training and professionalism.
Each has been assigned a ‘job’ while underground, from preparing meals
to monitoring air quality.

In
a sense, what they have gone through is an extreme version of what is
even in normal circumstances an extreme job. Most people would be on
the verge of ­madness after such an ordeal; fortunately, these men are
not most people.